UPS Inc. expected to handle a record 1.5 million returns Dec. 19, ahead of its usual early January peak of 1.3 million.

Expect record-breaking crowds this holiday season on the nation’s roads, rails and runways, as about one-third of Americans will be on the move.

FedEx Corp. shares plunged Dec. 19, after its “jarring” cut to annual forecasts and bleak commentary about European economy and global trade alarmed the market.

Manitoulin Transport has purchased Kluane Freight Lines Ltd.’s book of business and formed a joint venture with Chief Isaac Group of Cos., according to a Manitoulin news release.

Two motor carriers are closing out the year with pay increases for drivers, capping off a 2018 trend that saw many fleets boost compensation in order to attract and retain drivers.

These are boom times in West Texas. Across the state, the robust shale industry is providing a lift to local economies and trucking companies that serve the region. It’s also a microcosm for the trucking industry overall when it comes to finding drivers to keep the wheels of growth turning.

The air transport division of online retailer Amazon is expanding its capacity at a regional airport near Chicago that markets itself as an alternative to the city’s O’Hare International Airport, the nation’s sixth busiest cargo facility.

DHL, which specializes in international shipments, anticipates that it will make 156,000 delivery stops every day during December, a 56% increase over a typical month. With a distribution hub at each of Houston’s two major airports, it expects to handle 17% more package deliveries than last year.

This week is expected to be the busiest week of the holiday mailing and shipping season for the Postal Service. The agency expects to process and deliver nearly 3 billion pieces of mail, including packages, this week alone.

Five years on, Amazon.com Inc.’s chief executive officer is betting on decidedly more terrestrial technology: Drivers. As in real people. Tens of thousands of them. High-tailing it through town in gas-slurping vans to leave packages on doorsteps just like the milkman, postal worker, UPS guy and pizza dude before them.